A three-camera iPhone? It may be one of three new models for 2019, report says

finance
2 months ago
USA TODAY — Eli Blumenthal

Ready for more iPhones?

While the company's usual fall event may be several months away, early details on what to expect from Apple's 2019 iPhone update have begun to emerge, according to a new report. This year's early headliner: more cameras.

According to The Wall Street Journal, Apple will once again introduce three new phones this fall, with three rear cameras for its highest-end model. The other two models, including a possible iPhone XR successor with an LCD display, will have two cameras on the back.

In 2018, the pricier iPhone XS and XS Max each had two rear cameras to enable better zooming and a more robust "portrait" mode. The iPhone XR, which starts at $749 ($250 less than the $999 iPhone XS), had only one rear camera as well as a cheaper LCD display instead of using the XS line's higher-quality OLED technology.

According to the Journal, Apple is considering making a full switch to OLED for its 2020 iPhone line.

It is unclear how Apple would use the third camera in the next iPhone, though it would be far from the first to add additional cameras to the rear of a phone.

LG's V40 ThinQ launched in the U.S. last year with five total cameras, two for the front and three on the back. The three rear lenses on that phone allowed for close-up, zoomed in shots, panoramic wide-angle images as well as improved low-light capabilities through its more traditional "standard" zoom shooter.

You could choose between each setting or capture a shot from all angles at once in a "triple shot" mode.

Samsung has similarly experimented with adding more cameras to its devices, packing four rear sensors into its A9 phone in 2018.

One thing not expected on Apple's 2019 iPhone line: 5G. The company has been rumored to be waiting until 2020 to add support for the next generation wireless networks currently being built and turned on by AT&T, Verizon, Sprint and T-Mobile.

The news of new iPhones in the works comes one day after Samsung announced it will be revealing its next Galaxy phones, including a potential foldable model as well as one with 5G, on February 20.

With its competition already moving to 5G, it remains to be seen if Apple's new iPhones will be able to turn sales around for the company. Earlier this month, CEO Tim Cook said Apple is lowering its fiscal first-quarter guidance amid slowing growth in China and lower demand for iPhone upgrades.

The combined issues have led to Apple having "fewer iPhone upgrades than we had anticipated," Cook wrote in a letter to investors. Sales of the iPhone made up roughly 59 percent of its nearly $63 billion in revenue during the company's fourth quarter last year.